Lonely At The Top
by Snodin
Summary: What happens when you've reached the top and can't go any higher? Special dedication to Dancing Kirby, and for all Misawa fans.


AUTHOR'S NOTES: This fic is dedicated to Dancing Kirby and her contest for more Misawa fics. Lots of love, dudette!

This fic has nothing to do with the original GX series, or any of my other GX-based fics.

"**Lonely At The Top"**

By Snodin

_When you're down in the dumps, the only way you can go is up._

That's the old saying. …So, what happens when you've reached the top and can't go any higher? That was the thought that crossed Misawa Daichi's mind one morning, as he was dressing up in his yellow blazer just mere minutes before heading to his first daily class.

He wanted to be "Ichiban" from day one. He came into the school in the middle class, Ra Yellow, but he made a personal vow that he would only accept the promotion to Obelisk Blue- the highest ranked dorm of the entire Duel Academy- if only he could beat the best duelist of his grade. That duelist was Osiris Red student Yuki Judai.

One day, he finally got that chance. It was the one day he would always look back on…

In the middle of their first year at school, Judai was picked to represent Duel Academy in a special tournament against the school's long-time rival, North School. But some voted against him, because they didn't want a low-classman in such a prestigious game; therefore, their vote went to the best middle-classman- Misawa. Misawa took their vote honorably, and spent the entire evening studying up on Judai's strategies. Always the methodical one, Misawa focused on Judai's deck's one major weakness: it seemed to be way too dependant on Fusion monsters.

The next day, in the preliminary duel, Misawa managed to cripple at least half of Judai's deck with one simple Trap card: "Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell." As soon as Judai played "Fusion," Misawa triggered the Trap and negated _all_ Fusion cards from being played. Flame Wingman: gone. Thunder Giant: denied. Mudball Man: See you later, alligator. It seemed like a clinch for Misawa.

And then, Judai hit him with a new one. A few new ones, actually. But that was just like Judai; he was always prepared for the worst. Misawa really should have seen it coming, after seeing Judai duel over and over and over again on campus. But truthfully, he was stunned.

It was a day he looked back on every morning, because ever since then, Misawa had wondered one simple question: _What if?_ What if he won that duel? What if he won the School Duel? What if he finally made it into Obelisk Blue?

And then, for some reason, he started to think about Manjyome Jun.

Manjyome got his start at the top- he was practically _born_ at the top. He seemed to just walk in one day and say, "Give me my blue jacket" and they just handed it to him without question. He was everything Misawa wanted to be. …Or so it seemed.

Misawa started to remember how different Manjyome was in those first few months at Duel Academy. He was very distant on an emotional level. And for good reason; everyone was afraid of him. No, they hated him. They hated him with extreme jealousy. Nobody would talk to him, nobody would dare challenge him to a duel. And as soon as he lost his first duel to Judai, he instantly went from freshman god to laughing stock.

That's when Misawa realized something so profound, it shocked him: it's very lonely at the top.

It might not have been that much different for him if he had beaten Judai that day. Yes, he would finally see blue on his body, and yes he would have graced the ivory halls of the greatest dorm on the island. But at what price? Nobody would want to duel him, because they would have already foreseen their defeat. Nobody would even dare talk to him, because in their mind he would think he was too good to be in their presence. That's how it was for all Obelisks. They were rich, but equally lonely.

Misawa took a deep breath. He stared down at the wooden floor and started to thank God for his friends. He was thankful that he first met Judai as a friend, and not a rival; thankful that he was accepted at Ra and not Obelisk. Had it been the other way around, he probably would have been a different person. A cold person. A person he really didn't want to be.

And, in one very brief moment, he was thankful that he lost to Judai that fateful day.

In that same moment, he gazed at himself in the mirror on his dorm wall, the yellow of his blazer shimmering almost like gold, and smiled.


End file.
